Our Lord fasted and prayed for forty days before beginning his public life of preaching the Gospel. In Lent we accompany him in prayer, fasting and almsgiving to prepare for the great feast of Easter. In this meditation we consider how:

• Inspired by Christ’s example, our prayer and fasting will help us overcome the many temptations we face in life.
• When we live Lent well, we grow in self-mastery and experience the joy of the resurrection every day.
• Lent spurs us on to new growth in the spiritual life and prepares us for our final meeting with Our Lord.
• Texts of Pope Francis and St Peter Chrysologus show us the importance and unity of prayer, fasting and almsgiving.
• There are many practical ways of living each of these aspects of Lent.